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'Chasm is huge'

Advocacy gives voice to the often-voiceless poor

He got his start as a voice for the disenfranchised as a Capitol Hill intern for the late Sen. Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. A lifetime later, Paul Benz is an ELCA pastor and the advocacy director for the Faith Action Network in Seattle, one of 16 ELCA advocacy offices.

Benz collars politicians in marbled halls, urging them against cuts in housing and health care. He hosts advocacy days at lawmakers' offices where legions echo his call. He's at the pulpit urging letter campaigns.